Brazilian household debt reaches record levels in July 2026

In Brazil, household indebtedness reached significant levels in July 2026. According to the Consumer Indebtedness and Default Survey (PEIC) by the National Confederation of Trade (CNC), 82% of Brazilian families had debts due in July, marking the sixth consecutive record in the series since 2010. Additionally, 19% of families reported having more than half of their income committed to debt.

In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, data from Fecomércio-RS indicates that while the percentage of indebted families saw a slight monthly decrease to 86.4% from 86.9% in June, the figure remains high and exceeds levels from July 2025. However, there were signs of improvement in perception, as the portion of families considering themselves ‘very indebted’ fell to 15.9%, and delinquency rates dropped to 24.1%.

To manage high-interest obligations, there has been a 17.83% increase in vehicle-backed credit operations during the first half of 2026. Consumers are increasingly using their vehicles as collateral to exchange expensive personal loans—which can cost between 8.4% and 8.6% per month—for lower-interest credit, which can start near 1.09% per month plus IPCA.